Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Bird Check at Lake Mattamuskeet

My friend and I went back to Lake Mattamuskeet this past Monday mostly to try to see what waterfowl was coming in now and hopefully get some shots of Blue-winged Teal that were supposed to be in a certain area.

The grasses are still fairly high as there has not been any cold weather yet so most of the ducks in the marsh area were hidden from view. There were lots of Northern Pintail in and would get up and fly en mass when the Harrier or an eagle would buzz by. Lots of both Great and Snowy Egrets.
A few Tundra Swan were in but flew over to some fields at first light.

There were still lots of Common Yellowthroats around as the insect population was still fairly high. The best shots I have had of them all year so that was a bonus.

Lots of Palm Warblers around and they seemed to really like the Cypress trees.

Tons of deer! You could definitely tell it is mating season. Almost every path we took, deer.

While not looking forward to the really cold weather, I am looking forward to seeing the waterfowl. I have a feeling this may be a good year. The wetland areas have been flooded a bit more than last year which was not a good year. Hopefully the additional water in the impoundments will attract the ducks.